
Sunday
101 in 1001 XXXIV
January has been an interesting month. It seems like I've barely sat down so I've got the year off to a really great start. I've also ticked off more of my goals than I anticipated!
#38 Visit an ice bar


Saturday
The Britain's Got Talent auditions that were
Remember last weekend when Vix and I tried- and failed- to see the Britain's Got Talent auditions? Good news- I eventually got to see them! When we were told on Saturday that the tickets had all been distributed, we were given a code to get guaranteed tickets to an audition later in the week. Unfortunately Vix couldn't make the second date so I dragged Rich along instead and we made a right day of it.
2016 Travel Plans
It was when we visited Paris and Berlin last summer that I realised my heart lay in travel blogging. Of course I've always wanted to travel (who doesn't?) and my grandparents instilled a love of culture in me from an early age but, as I got older, real life got in the way. After our European jaunt, I made it a priority to travel as often as possible so we've lined up a good few trips for the next year.
Thursday
#BloggersBelowZero // Ice Bar London
I've wanted to visit an ice bar for ever. (In fact, when we went to Florida in 2014, we were planning to pop into the one on International Drive but since Matt was under 21, we had to stay in the hotel and babysit him. Jeez, Matt!) When Lauren of LDN Meet Up emailed to let us know that she was hosting an event at Ice Bar London, the only permanent ice bar in London, I was super excited.

Monday
Bedroom Tour and Wishlist
I adore my bedroom. With plain white walls and furniture, I've kept it calm and relaxing with pale blue accessories such as my favourite toile de juoy duvet cover and Fluffy artwork. I love nothing more than scouring homeware departments looking for new items to add.
Sunday
The Britain's Got Talent auditions that weren't
A long time ago, it was established that Vix and I are big fans of Ant and Dec. We joked about coming up with some sort of act to audition on Britain's Got Talent, purely to meet the pair, but never quite got round to it. However, what we (well, Vix) did manage to do was get tickets to see the Britain's Got Talent auditions. Awesome! We were finally going to be in the same room as our favourite Geordie scamps. Only we ended up finding ourselves in the audience of Jersey Boys instead.
Friday
Thursday
Arty London // 4 creative things to do in London
London is, in my humble opinion, one of the best cities in the world for experiencing the arts. There is such a rich, varied history of culture that continues to this day so there's no end of wonderful arty things to do. Of course, there are the obvious choices but I've tried to list my favourite slightly-underappreciated creative ventures in the capital.
Wednesday
Review // Lush Kerbside Violet Perfume
I used to be really into perfume (as evident in this very early- horrific- post of mine) but when I started working, I got out of the habit of applying it regularly. When you wake up 15 minutes before you need to leave, there's no time for luxuries like perfume! For this reason, I've always neglected the Gorilla Perfume section of Lush stores. Why would I buy another bottle when I have 30 neglected ones at home? Then, at the Lush Reading Winter Event, I tried a spritz of Kerbside Violet and fell in love!
Tuesday
Making Changes with Appleyard London
Sunday
Review // MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick
When everybody was going crazy over Velvet Teddy, I wasn't that fussed. Yes, it was a matte and matte lipsticks are my jam, but I've always been more of a pink lip girl. When Helen sold a bunch of MAC lipsticks- including Velvet Teddy- in a blog sale, I decided I'd give it a go. That might be the greatest decision I've ever made.*


Saturday
Brighton // The Breakfast Club
Thursday was Jordan's birthday and I was honoured to be invited to Brighton to celebrate with a bunch of lovely bloggers. Jordan booked a table at The Breakfast Club which I was very excited about as I loved eating in the Spitalfields cafe on Pancake Day last year.


Friday
FF CLIII

Thursday
Alan Rickman
I've always found it cathartic to write this blog. In fact, I've always found it cathartic to write full stop. My diaries were the ideal way to get all my thoughts out of my head and in some physical form where I could see them and organise them and, most importantly, stop them clouding my mind. I didn't intend to write this post but I have so many thoughts swilling around and I need to get them out. So I'm writing this- a post dedicated to a man who brought so much joy into my life, even though I'd never met him- for that simple reason. There will be no promotion of it. No links on Twitter. No Facebook posts. I'm just dealing with this news how I always do- by writing about it.


Wednesday
Review // Lush Love and Light Hand Cream
I've never been one for hand creams. I find the greasiness a bit irritating and I've just never really felt the need for it. Lush's Love and Light was included in a gift set so I gave it a go and I was surprised to find I really liked it!
Tuesday
Charity of the Month // Leona for Little Princess Trust
My Charity of the Month is a little different this January. Instead of supporting a charity, I'm using this space to share Leona's fundraising campaign. Those of you who know Leona will know that she has long hair. Like, really long hair. Being the wonderful, selfless person she is, she's decided to cut it off and donate it to the Little Princess Trust. Not only that, but she's being sponsored to do so and donating all of the money she raises. Amazing!

Sunday
Twitter Giveaway // Lush Soaps and Clothbound Classic
In the Lush Boxing Day sales, I tend to buy a bunch of gift sets. Of course the problem with this is that there will usually be something I'm not keen on, particularly the soaps. I don't get on well with Lush soaps so, as lovely as they smell, I never use them and they just end up languishing in my bathroom. This year, I figured I'd host a little giveaway and give them to someone who will actually use them.
The soaps here are Respect Your Elders and Snowcake. The former is a fruity, slightly floral soap with elderflower (my favourite) and bergamot. Snowcake, on the other hand, is a mouthwatering marzipan-scented soap which I so wish I could use! I'm even chucking in a bar of Santa FUN, which has the same delicate jasmine fragrance as the discontinued Christmas Eve bubble bar, and has the added bonus of being able to make cute little santas while you bathe.
In case you're unsure whether to enter, here are some really great reviews on the products: Respect Your Elders, Snowcake, Santa FUN.
The second prize I have to give away is a Clothbound Classics copy of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. My mum bought me a beautiful boxset of Dickens Clothbound Classics, including this one, which I already own. Rather than keep the duplicate copy, I know there are lots of book bloggers who would love the clothbound edition. Of course everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carol but this copy includes other Christmas tales by Dickens. Of course it's also wrapped up in beautiful white cloth with blue snowflakes and a blue ribbon bookmark. Here's my review of the book with more information.

Saturday
Autumn/ Winter Empties
Originally I was going to post my autumn empties at the beginning of December but then, well, Christmas got in the way. Consider these my autumn-and-part-of-winter empties binstead. Although, to be honest, I might as well have just called them my Lush Empties.
Friday
FF CLII

Thursday
Nails // Essie Delicacy and almond shape
For a long time now, I've been hankering over beautiful pointed stiletto or almond nails. Initially I intended to get some done for the week leading up to Halloween in glossy black, but then Laura booked her wedding for 30th October and wasn't too keen on the witchy talons idea for her maid of honour. Can't think why. With this plan, I was going to get them filed down to a more appropriate shape before returning to work. When it didn't work out, I decided I'd get my stiletto nails in the summer holidays... but then I thought, why wait? I don't tend to poke children in the face much (I did accidentally fish hook one once but that's a story for another day!) so I figured I'd just go for it.
Wednesday
What I've learned in 4 years of blogging
At the end of December, I hit my 4th blog birthday. Honestly, I never believed I'd keep up my little blog this long! Over the past four years, I've learned more than I could imagine and wanted to share some of these lessons with you.
Monday
Dear Diary // All the blogs I used to have
I've always communicated my thoughts as though I had an audience. When I was 10, I started writing a diary (remember my blog series on my childhood diaries?) but wrote as though to a reader, rather than just myself. I'd also talk to myself all the time as though I was being interviewed (I may still do this in the car- Just preparing for my time on Piers Morgan's Life Stories!). It's hardly surprising, then, that as soon as I had access to the internet, I started writing blogs. In light of this blog's fourth anniversary, I thought it would be fun to have a look at its predecessors. Don't get your hopes up, though- none of them are still online!

Sunday
Review // Lush Supertramp & Pooh Stix
Well, I make this time for another Lush review! It's been all of two months since I last published one- my review of Celestial Moisturiser- and that's just completely out of character! The two products in this review are fairly difficult to get hold of. One is an Oxford Street exclusive while the other is from the Kitchen, but hopefully they'll be of use to somebody in the future.
SUPERTRAMP BUBBLE BAR
Poor Supertramp is so misunderstood. I'll admit, while in the Oxford Street branch, I've passed him by on many occasions. He looks so pretty, you see, with pale pink and green swirls that you can't help but be drawn in. Then you give him a sniff. Unlike most of Lush's offerings, he's not sweet, or spicy, or floral. Nope, Supertramp is none of these. Supertramp is mossy. It's quite a shock, especially considering the candy-sweet colours, so most people tend to put him back down straight away. However, I decided that this time I was going to give Supertramp a chance. And you know what? He's not half bad. With ginger and sandalwood, Supertramp has a particularly earthy, masculine scent which is actually very grounding and soothing, and gently lingers on the skin. Roughly the same size and shape as the likes of Comforter, this bubble bar is great value for money and produces loads of bubbles. It does turn my bathwater into a murky, greyish sort of tone so it's not the prettiest of effects but definitely deserves a better reputation!
Sponsor Becky Bedbug in January- 20% off!
New year, new blog? Although I think New Year's Eve is hugely overrated, I really love the whole feeling that comes with a brand new year. A time for fresh starts and making exciting changes. So why not get 2016 to a great start by advertising your blog?

Let's take a look at what you get:
Bloglovin' // Twitter // Instagram

Let's take a look at what you get:
- An advert in my sidebar for 30 days
- Featured in a sponsor shoutout post
- A shoutout on Twitter
Stats are important too, I know, so here are the things you need to know:
- 2500+ on Bloglovin'
- 10600+ on Twitter
- 13000+ visitors a month
Since it's January, and I'm feeling positive, I'm offering a 20% discount. All you need to do is purchase your advert through Passionfruit and enter JAN at checkout (and I haven't even raised the prices beforehand like those sneaky online retailers!)
For further information, check out my sponsorship page or contact me.
Saturday
Top 20 beauty finds of 2015
Bear with me for one more 2015 round up. I promise this is the last one!
2015 has been a huge success on the beauty front. I think last year, more than any other, I've found a really great collection of beauty products that work for me perfectly. In fact, I think my hunt for the perfect concealer is finally over! So without further ado, here are my top 20 beauty finds of 2015. I should warn you, there is going to be a lot of Lush!
2015 has been a huge success on the beauty front. I think last year, more than any other, I've found a really great collection of beauty products that work for me perfectly. In fact, I think my hunt for the perfect concealer is finally over! So without further ado, here are my top 20 beauty finds of 2015. I should warn you, there is going to be a lot of Lush!
Friday
FF CLI
Life and blog goals for 2016
2016 is going to be MY year. I have some really big plans that are going to make a huge difference to my life and health. I'm so excited for the year ahead!